Luthee stiebingeb



(N0,Mode1.)

L. STIERINGER;

SUPPORT FOR ELEGTRIG LIGHT GONDUGTORS.

No. 278,465. Patented May 29,1883.

a UNITE STATES P TENT OFFicE.

I LUTHER STIEBINGER, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

P suP oRT FOR ELECTRIC-LIGHT CONDUCTORS.

SPECIFICATION forming part ofLetters Patent No. 278,465, dated May 29, 1883.

Application filed March 15, 1 882. (No model.)

Io all whom it may concern Be itkuown that I, LUTHER STTERINGER, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Electrical Fixtures, of i which the following is a specification.

The object I have in view is to produce a flexible support or covering for electric condoctors, more especially designed for use with wires for electric-light purposes, and particularly adapted 'to form pendent drops or fixtures for such lights, which support will serve as'a securing or connecting material, taking material; Fig. 3, aperspective view of aseparable ceiling-joint, with the flexible wire-support used as a pendent fixture and Figs. 4 and 5, detail views of the two parts of the ceiling-joint.

Like letters denote corresponding parts in all the figures.

A is a supporting material, which is preferably. flat, as shown, and is preferably a webbing made of woven, knit, or braided fabric. The conducting-wires 1 2, which are preferably insulated wires, pass through tubes a a, in the webbingA, formed by sewing, or made in the process of manufacturing the webbing. For a drop-light the webbing has securedto its ends a forked metal pieces B (l, which are attached to tubes 11 0, into which the insulated wires 1 2 from the webbing pass. The lower tube, 0, has a lamp-socket, D, screwed upon it, which carries the reversedincandesci n gelectric lamp L" and the shade E; or, instead of this lampsocket, a chandelier-body maybe secured to tube 0, having two or more arms carrying sockets and electric lamps, and suitable wires connected with the main wires 1 2. The upper tu be, b, is supported from the body of the fixture, as shown, and itself forms the support for the ornamental shell which covers the bottom of the fixture body. The wires 1 2 pass lier, the wires 1 2 of the webbing being connected with the terminals on the plug. The forked piece 0 is provided with a hook, d, by

through the tube 11, and are secured, with the which the drop can be hung up, out of the way,

to some part of the chandelier.

It will be understood that the weight of the lamp or lamps and accompanying parts is sus-' tained by the webbing, the strain being trans- I mitted from O to B through the webbing, and

the conducting-wires being entirelyrelieved from strain. These wires, although shown, for clearness in the drawings, exposed to view at the ends of'the webbing, willnot be so exposed in practice, but will be brought together between the thicknesses of the webbing before being passed into the tubes b c.

The webbing, it will be seen, can be ornamented to any desired extent. separate pendent fixture it is desirable that means should be provided for readily connecting with and disconnecting from the ceilingconductors. For this purpose I use the separable joint shown in Figs. 3, 4, and 5. It is composed of a block,F, of wood, which may be' secured to the ceiling by screws, or connected with the gas-piping by means of a. thimble, c. This block has a dovetail groove or way out in its face, in which slides the dovetail block Gr, also of wood. To this block Gris secured the webbing A, the wires 1 2 from which pass through the block to its upper side,where one is secured to acontact-plate, f, on one side of G, while the other is secured to a flat plate, g. The plate gis connected with the other side contact-plate, h, by means of a safety-catch link, The stationary block F has plate-springs j it, which bear against For use as a fh, and are connected with the ceiling-wires 3 4. This form. of joint permits the fixture to be readily connected and disconnected by a simple sliding movement, good electrical contact being at the same time assured. A screw orplug may be used to additionally secure one block within the other; butthis is not essential. This form of separable joint is also adapted for wall-brackets, for which use the dovetail way or groove in the face of F would be closed at one end; but this way or groove may be so closed when the joint is used as a ceiling joint for a pendent fixture. This separable joint forms a simple and effective device for use wherever a separable joint is required in an electric-light circuit. I do not, however, claim this separable joint herein, since the same will be made the subject of an 1 other application for patent.

flexibility, and may be made in cylindrical or other form. It can also be made moistureproof, if desired, by the use'of a water-proof insulating substance to better protect the wires.

It is evident that wires supported and covered in this manner are capable of use for many purposes in addition to those already mentioned. The device can be used wherever it is desired 'to lead wires in an ornamental manner within a house, or for extension wallbrackets or chandeliers, the webbing connecting the extensible with the stationary part and limiting the extending movement; or for connecting a lamp-bracket on a dressing-case with the wall, so as to permit the moving out of the dressing-case a limited distance; or the webbing may be hung in festoons and have lamps connected at various points with it.

For border and other stage lights for theaters the device is also well adapted. 1

What I claim is- 1. The combination of a flexible supporting material, and one or more translating devices supported by such material, with circuit-wires extending to the translating device or devices and carried by such supporting material, such circuit-wires being wholly independent of the means for attaching the translating device or devices to such supporting material, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. In an electric-light drop or fixture, the combination, with a flexible sustaining part, A, the circuit-wires 1 2 carried and concealed by said flexible sustaining part, of a tube, a,

secured to such part A and receiving the wires from the part A, and a lamp-socket or fixturebody secured to such tube, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination of a fiat flexible supporting material, one or more translating devices supported thereby, and circuit-wires extending to such translating device or devices and carried by such material, substantially as set forth. Y i

4. An electric-light drop composed of a flat flexible supportingmaterial, one or more electriclampssupportedthereby,and circuit-wires extending to the lamp or lamps and carried by the material, independent of the means for attaching the lamp or lamps thereto, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 10th day of March, 1882.

' LUTHER STIERINGER.

l/Vitnesses: I

WM. H. l\'.[EADOWGROFT, H. W. SEELY. 

